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Festivals

WHAT IS THE FESTIVAL OF YOUNG PREACHERS?

The Festival of Young Preachers is a trans-denominational, one-of-a-kind event designed to showcase and encourage young people who aspire to be preachers of the Gospel. The Academy of Preacher’s mission is to identify these young people while cultivating within them the conviction that Gospel preaching is a vocation of great social and spiritual significance and is worthy of their very best.

The Festival of Young Preachers is not a competition. It is a celebration, an inspiration, an occasion of mutual edification and encouragement. Young preachers, ages 14-28, from every Christian tradition (Evangelical, Orthodox, Protestant, Pentecostal, and Roman Catholic) are encouraged to preach at a Festival precisely as they would in their home environment: dress, text, voice, style, substance, whatever! This diversity has proven to be one of the most transformational elements about the gathering.

A sample of this broad constituency can be viewed on our YouTube channel where many of the sermon videos are posted; click here to locate the sermon video of those who preached in previous National Festivals of Young Preachers.

The 2015 National Festival will be in Dallas, Texas (January 2-5, 2015, hosted by Highland Park United Methodist Church, Perkins School of Theology, and Holiday Inn Central).

In addition to the National Festival of Young Preachers, the Academy of Preachers offers opportunities for institutions, organizations, and denominations to host Festivals of Young Preachers. A “Festival in a Box” (a toolkit designed to walk you through every aspect of planning such an event) is now available to anyone interested in hosting such as event. To learn more about hosting a Campus or Denominational Festival, click here.

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“I commend you for the vision for the Academy and the Lilly Endowment, Inc. for its support of this initiative. Future generations of clergy and laity are bound to be shaped by the work of the Academy of Preachers; thank you for the opportunity to be among the Founding Partners.”